Preamble ————
Access to large-scale, results-based funding for education has been constrained not by a lack of political will or capital, but by the absence of internationally trusted, auditable, and comparable standards for educational outcomes, and by the absence of a credible mechanism for assessing whether those standards have been met.
In health, the combination of standards definition (through institutions such as Gavi) and standards-based assessment (through independent verification accepted by funders) enabled results-based funding to scale globally.
In financial integrity, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) demonstrated that non-coercive standards and assessments, when widely trusted, can shape national behavior without exercising enforcement power.
The Global Education Outcomes Standards (GEOS™) are, collectively, the missing standards layer for education, enabling results-based funding while preserving national sovereignty, policy autonomy, and data control. They are called the GEOS Standards, or simply GEOS.
The GEOS Organization (never "GEOSO") is established to provide this missing layer.
By providing this missing layer, it is hoped that The GEOS Organization will help to make the world's best digital learning resources measurable, comparable, and financeable — so that all learners may access them on equal terms.
Article I — Purpose ————————-
The GEOS Organization exists to enable results-based funding for education by providing:
Standards Definition (Def): The internationally trusted specification of education outcome taxonomies, measurement processes, and reporting formats suitable for finance-grade use.
Standards Conformity Assessment (Assess): The credible, auditable evaluation of whether submitted education outcome signals conform to GEOS.
The GEOS Organization does not fund education, intermediate capital, set education policy, mandate curriculum, or control data.
Article II — Scope and Constraints —————————————-
The GEOS Organization is deliberately constrained by design.
The GEOS Organization shall not:
hold or access any School System's data except outcome signals provided for certification,
issue financial instruments,
intermediate capital or make funding decisions,
impose education policy or curriculum requirements on any jurisdiction,
compel participation by any School System or funder.
The GEOS Organization shall:
publish standards openly,
assess conformity to those standards transparently,
operate without enforcement authority, and
invite School Systems to seek GEOS certification voluntarily.
Article III — Standards Definition (Def) ———————————————-
The GEOS Organization's Def function shall include:
internationally standardized education outcome taxonomies,
definitions of improvement over time,
specifications for Sentinel signal portfolios (families of metrics, not single scores),
specification of the requirements for the certification of Sentinel signal portfolios as GEOS Outcome Signal Portfolios (GeOSPs™),
minimum requirements for auditability and reproducibility.
Standards shall be:
versioned,
publicly available,
stable over defined periods,
adaptable through documented revision processes.
GEOS standards must be compatible with existing education finance facilities, notably IFFEd, and designed to reduce—not increase—transaction friction.
Article IV — Standards Conformity Assessment (Assess) ———————————————————--
The GEOS Organization's Assess function shall include:
defining conformity assessment procedures,
maintenance of public lists of certified GeOSPs (n.b., the list is public, but the contents of a GeOSP is shared only under NDA).
Assessment shall:
rely on independent auditors (GEOSors™; see below),
be evidence-based and repeatable,
allow formal challenge and re-assessment.
Assessment results signal eligibility; they do not trigger funding.
Article V — Contestability and Due Process ————————————————
The GEOS Organization shall establish and maintain a formal contestability framework specifying:
who may challenge an assessment,
permissible grounds for challenge (process, methodology, audit integrity),
remedies (re-audit, restatement, clarification),
limits (no political reinterpretation of standards).
Disputes are resolved through process, not discretion.
Article VI — Governance —————————--
The GEOS Organization shall operate as a polycentric, multi-stakeholder institution, with representation from:
School Systems,
development partners and funders,
technical experts,
independent auditors,
civil society observers.
No single stakeholder group shall control standards, assessments, or governance.
Article VII — Relationship to Funders and Facilities ———————————————————-
The GEOS Organization's assessments may be used by:
multilateral facilities (e.g., IFFEd),
bilateral donors,
philanthropic and impact investors.
The GEOS Organization does not endorse funders, set funding thresholds, or negotiate financing terms.
Funders independently decide whether and how to use GEOS-certified signals.
Article VIII — Transparency and Accountability —————————————————-
The GEOS Organization shall publish all:
standards,
assessment methodologies,
governance structures,
decision processes.
The GEOS Organization is accountable through transparency, peer scrutiny, and voluntary adoption—not enforcement.
Article IX — Standards Conformity Assessment and GEOSor™ Certification —————————————————————————-
The GEOS Organization shall establish and maintain a standards conformity assessment framework to enable independent verification that education outcome signals, processes, and disclosures conform to the published GEOS standards.
This framework shall support credibility, auditability, and contestability of results-based education finance without granting operational, financial, or policy authority to The GEOS Organization.
The GEOS Organization may define and administer a professional certification, with an internationally trademarkable name herein code-named GEOSor™, for individuals qualified to conduct standards conformity assessment in accordance with GEOS standards.
GEOSor™ certification shall attest solely to competence in applying GEOS standards, assessment methodologies, audit procedures, professional ethics, and contestation rules, and shall not imply endorsement of education outcomes, programs, policies, or funding decisions.
GEOSor™-certified assessors shall operate independently of:
School Systems whose data they assess;
funders, issuers, or facilities that may rely on assessed results; and
The GEOS Organization's governance.
The GEOS Organization shall not conduct conformity assessments itself, except as required for validation, quality assurance, or dispute-resolution procedures expressly authorized by this Charter.
The detailed design of GEOSor™ certification—including bodies of knowledge, examination requirements, training recognition, continuing education, revocation procedures, and public registries—shall be adopted by the Founding Members pursuant to resolutions issued under this Charter.
Such resolutions shall ensure professional integrity, geographic accessibility, and avoidance of institutional capture.
The GEOS Organization may similarly define and operate a partner program for GEOSor-employing entities, herein code-named GEOSor Certified Partners™.
The GEOS Organization may recover the costs of its standards and assessment functions through fees associated with GEOSor™ certification, examinations, accreditation of training or assessment providers, licensed reference materials, and also trademark royalties, and likewise for GEOSor™ Certified Partners™.
Such revenues are intended to support institutional sustainability and shall not create incentives that compromise the independence, rigor, or credibility of GEOS standards or assessments.
The GEOS Organization shall not receive compensation contingent on education outcomes, funding disbursements, or assessment results, nor shall GEOSor™ or Partner certification be tied to the success, scale, or availability of Results-Based Funding.
Article X — Trademark Enforcement —————————————
The GEOS Organization's trademarks are the intellectual property of The GEOS Organization, and may be used only by permission. The GEOS Organization is expected to use this trademark enforcement power solely to enhance and maintain the GEOS system's integrity and economic sustainability.
Article XI — Founding Members' Governance Resolution ———————————————————-
The following staged governance approach is adopted to reflect established practice in multilateral standard-setting bodies, balancing early legitimacy with institutional restraint.
The Founding Members of The GEOS Organization, acting collectively as the Charter-authoritative body, shall, within 90 days of their first official meeting, formally adopt and publish binding resolutions addressing the following governance matters:
Membership classes and participation rights;
Board composition, appointment, and term limits;
Decision-making procedures and quorum rules;
Conflict-of-interest and disclosure requirements;
Legal form, jurisdiction, and liability limitations;
Permitted funding sources and institutional safeguards;
Transparency and public reporting obligations; and
Procedures for amendment of this Charter.
Until such resolutions are adopted and published, the authority of The GEOS Organization shall remain strictly limited to the standards-definition and standards-assessment functions expressly described in this Charter.
Failure to adopt such resolutions within the specified period shall be publicly disclosed by The GEOS Organization.
Closing Statement ———————
The GEOS Organization exists to make educational improvement measurable, comparable, and financeable—without controlling education systems, capital, or policy.
Its authority derives from trust, not power; from standards, not mandates; and from assessment, not enforcement.